Précis

MGM Official Summary

The official summary is not yet available as this movie has yet to be produced.

Spoilers

Note: Latest updates are in color.

Storyline

SG-1 gets involved once again with time travel.

"While SG-1 attends the execution of Ba'al, the last of the goa'uld system lords, Teal'c and Vala inexplicably disappear into thin air. Carter, Daniel and Mitchell race back to a world where history has been changed: the Stargate program has been erased from the timeline. As they try to convince the authorities what's happened, a fleet of goa'uld motherships arrives in orbit, led by Ba'al, his queen, Katesh, (Vala) and his first prime, Teal'c. SG-1 must find the Stargate and set things right before the world is enslaved by the goa'uld." — Business Wire, MGM Greenlights New Stargate Movies, January 15, 2007.

Production Notes

Announcement of the movie was made online by TV Guide, October 11, 2006:

Stargate SG-1 may be winding down its 10-year-run this spring, but here’s some exciting news for its fans. MGM has granted a green light — and enough money — to produce two movies, most likely for DVD, executive producer Brad Wright tells TV Guide. The first flick will tie up most of the finale’s loose threads — “It’s the climax of the Ori story line” — and will be written-directed by exec producer Robert Cooper. The second film, penned by Wright, will involve time travel, and both projects should debut in the fall of 2007. Though no deals are signed, SG-1’s stars are said to be “very eager” to continue.

“They’re not big-budget [films] by any definition, but for us it’s pretty good,” says Wright. “As we’ve proven over the years, just give us little more money and we can make pretty good television, or DVDs.

“There’s a sense of an era for us ending,” Wright continues, “but at the same time, we’re all positive because of the prospect of continuing forward with movies and the introduction next year of Stargate Worlds, a massive multiplayer online game.”

Michael Shanks comments on his interest in being a part of these movies: "Oh yeah, absolutely," he says. "We know that it's going to be a better way to take some time and tell some good stories instead of what we've been doing a lot of years - telling some good stories and some not so good. This time we can really take our time and I think it's a dream fulfilled for a lot of people. Certainly a better wish would be to do a big budget feature film, but to do things like this, with less time commitment and more care taken, is something that we all are very interested in doing; especially if this is going to be the end of the road, then this is a great way to go out." — Michael Shanks, "Skating Past The Gate" Interview on Michael Shanks Online, October 2006.

"Asked about the DVD movies, he [Michael Shanks] said he doesn't know much, but one is supposed to resolve the Ori storyline, while the other one, being written by Brad Wright, is about time travel-Ba'al-submarines. He doesn't know much and only found out the movies had been green-lit on the internet while he was in Bulgaria." — Solutions Features: Burbank Creation Con Report by Michelle, November 2006.

"He's [Cliff Simon who plays Ba'al] excited about the movies that are going to be shot next year. He has a "yes" on one and a "maybe" on the other, but it's a Hollywood yes, meaning no contract yet. He's heard that filming will take place in May and June of '07. He expects the movies to be really good story-wise and in terms of special effects." — Solutions Features: Burbank Creation Con Report by Michelle, November 2006.

"As a matter of fact, just last night Brad [Wright] and I were talking about how we're going to work live orchestra into the movies. And we were just discussing that and how, logistically, we were going to do that. Because there is a little more budget on that. So we can do it." — Joel Goldsmith, composer, Interview at Gateworld, December 2006.

IGN Interviews Michael Shanks, published December 18, 2006:

IGN TV: Though there isn't going to be a next season, there was an announcement that movies would be in the works. Are you set to appear in the movies and is there anything you can tell us about what the movies will center around? I didn't know if you'd got those scripts yet or not. I know I heard something about filming starting in April and June.

Shanks: I just finished negotiations - I think most of the cast has finished for appearances in movies - as far as I know, you guys by reading stuff on the Internet know as much as I do, because all we knew were we were going to do two movies, and Rob and Brad were going to pull away from the Atlantis franchise and focus on doing these movies - Rob was going to write one and Brad was going to write one. Rob was going to direct one and I think Martin Wood was going to direct the other.

We know the first shoot date of the first movie is April 15th and the second is around June 1st. [...]

And Brad is writing one, as far as I know, is a bit more standalone that will involve some kind of time travel and has something to do with our main mustache twiddling villain Baal doing something in the past that alters…he basically finds a way to lift the stargate from Earth so the Stargate Program never happens, and I imagine the characters will have to go through some process to reset the clock and fix everything over the course of two hours. Quite frankly that is as much as I know. I haven't even talked to the guys about it. They told us these pitches in September, so I haven't talked to anyone since then so that could've changed overnight, I have no idea. Everybody is very excited to close the book on the show and maybe it will introduce the possibility of continuing the franchise in the DVD format or taking it to another level and boosting it up to a feature film or it just might be on closing the book on it or another spinoff - who knows. There is a lot of potential for the franchise and it would be a shame just for it to end, but it has been a wonderful run.

"Regarding yesterday's post, SG-1 Forever writes: 'Jack would be awesome! Can you tell us if he's in the movies, Joe?' Answer: Nothing to report on this front (sorry)..." — Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, January 10, 2007.

MGM has financed the movies based only on projected DVD sales, but are looking for broadcast deals as well. The funding for each of the 2 DVD movies is more than it would be for 2 episodes, but still nowhere near a feature-type budget, so they will be using their creativity to make it look big on a TV-movie budget. All of the main cast have signed for the movie, and they have contacted RDA about appearing as O’Neill in one or both movies. No work on whether that will work out business-wise or not.

The second movie is more of a standalone story, although, if the actors are available, it will bring back a lot of fan favorites. The intention is to get fans used to the idea of SG-1 movies, to whet their appetites for more.

The movies will not be tied to an exact length, so they can edit them to have all the scenes and shots that make sense for the stories, rather than being tied to 44:15 like they were for episodes. They will also be shot in widescreen 16×9 format without ‘protecting’ the center of the screen, for a movie-like feel.

The movies will keep RCC and BW busy until the summer time. They are writing now, planning of 4 weeks of shooting for each starting in mid April, then the usual post-production.

The second DVD movie will be called Stargate Continuum. It will be a time travel story. He [Brad Wright] wants to prove it could be the first in a string that could continue the SG-1 legacy. It will feature characters who are dead in current show canon, but can be brought back because of time travel. He would really like RDA to be in one or both movies, but it’s up to RDA and the business side to work it out. At the time of the interview, Beau Bridges was not yet signed for the movies. Wright hopes that Martin Wood will direct the second movie.

He [Brad Wright] does not feel going direct to DVD for the movies is a bad thing. As home theaters become so good, more and more people prefer to watch movies on DVD. The 16×9 widescreen format gives them a lot more freedom to film in a movie style as well, rather than having to keep all the action in the center of the screen for 4×3 TV’s.

"While SG-1 attends the execution of Ba'al, the last of the goa'uld system lords, Teal'c and Vala inexplicably disappear into thin air. Carter, Daniel and Mitchell race back to a world where history has been changed: the Stargate program has been erased from the timeline. As they try to convince the authorities what's happened, a fleet of goa'uld motherships arrives in orbit, led by Ba'al, his queen, Katesh, (Vala) and his first prime, Teal'c. SG-1 must find the Stargate and set things right before the world is enslaved by the goa'uld." — Business Wire, MGM Greenlights New Stargate Movies, January 15, 2007.

"Anonymous #5 writes: “I read in Variety that Beau Bridges is going to be starring in a new show for Fox. Does this mean General Landry won't be in the movies?” Answer: Congratulations to Beau who is hilarious on My Name is Earl and I’m sure will prove just as hilarious on his new series. And, yes, General Landry will be making an appearance in both SG-1 movies." — Joseph Mallozzi, Personal Blog, February 21, 2007.

"Today was the big Arctic briefing for Stargate: Continuum. Those heading up North for the shoot were regaled with sobering warnings on thin ice, wandering polar bears, and wind gusts that freeze exposed skin in less than three seconds. But assurances were made that everyone would be accompanied by “someone with ice experience”. Like, say, a shotgun-toting Dorothy Hamel?" — Joseph Mallozzi, Personal Blog, February 27, 2007.

From ComingSoon.net's "Stargate: Continuum to Film Scenes in the Arctic," March 14, 2007:

MGM is teaming with the U.S. Navy to capture a series of bone chilling adventure scenes for the studio's upcoming "Stargate SG-1" direct-to-video, "Stargate: Continuum." Cast members, including Ben Browder ("Stargate SG1's" Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell) and Amanda Tapping (Lt. Col. Samantha Carter) will travel to the sub-zero climate of the Arctic to shoot at the Navy's Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) for the week of March 23 through 29. Martin Wood, Director of over 70 "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis" episodes, is confirmed to direct "Stargate: Continuum."

"Stargate: Continuum," which is being co-financed by MGM and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, will shoot a variety of scenes on location in the Arctic ice, located approximately 200 nautical miles north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. In addition to the frigid outdoor environments, the filming will also involve U.S. Navy submarine USS Alexandria (SSN-757). Among the most visually stunning and dramatic scenes to be filmed at the location involves the submarine as it bursts through the ice and into the cold Arctic air with temperatures hovering around 50 degrees below zero.

Playback Magazine reported that Richard Dean Anderson will be in the movie. "Stargate goes nuclear", March 17, 2007.

"Siler will not be making the move to Atlantis but will be putting in an appearance in Continuum." — Joseph Mallozzi, Personal Blog, March 21, 2007.

Lexa Doig cancelled her appearance at the Vulcon: Ladies of Sci-Fi convention to be held May 18-20 due to the changes in the filming schedule of Stargate Continuum, according to the Vulcon convention website, accessed March 26, 2007.

Those who attended the Vancouver Creation Con report that N. John Smith said that special sets will be built to accommodate Michael Shanks's filming of Daniel Jackson's scenes in the Arctic. Shanks was not available for the Arctic shoot because he was filming a four-episode arc for FOX TV's 24. — Solutions Blog: SG-1 Spoilers: Continuum Locations and Sets, March 28, 2007.

Reuters reports of the extreme dangers of filming in the Arctic Circle and also reveals that the movie is costing between $6-7 million to produce. — "Stargate" filmmakers risk lives in Arctic Circle, March 27, 2007.

The opportunity arose because Barry Campbell, who runs the ice camp, is a fan of Stargate. "He invited [executive producer] John Smith to visit the ice camp, then it became John and a few people from the show, and it snowballed from there," executive producer Brad Wright told StargateAtlantis.com. "When I was conceiving the story, I came up with a reason that SG-1 could end up stranded in the Arctic and get rescued by a submarine -- and Jack O'Neill -- and Barry has been very accomodating. So has Erik Reynolds, the Navy liaison." — SG-1 cast to film in the Arctic, StargateAtlantis.com, March 14, 2007.

Question: "Did Martin Wood wear his shorts up in the Arctic?" Answer: "Find out in the Stargate: Continuum tease Ivon Bartok has put together for the season 10 dvd release." — Joseph Mallozzi, Personal Blog, April 11, 2007.

The Stargate crew was featured in Navy Lab "post cards" (similar to a blog) while filming in the Arctic. There are pictures and an entry made by Amanda Tapping. — Solutions Blog: Navy Lab Chronicles Stargate Filming, April 11, 2007.

Barry L. Campbell, head of operations at the San Diego-based U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory, presented the idea to Executive Producer N. John Smith at a Stargate convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, and has a speaking role in the film. — Navy Newsstand: Stargate Stars Film Movie Aboard USS Alexandria at the Polar Ice Pack, April 18, 2007.

"In the second movie, we get to see a completely different side of the character [Daniel Jackson] — we get to see him vulnerable in a way we've never seen before. I won't give away specifics, but something he's never had to go through before, but be alive, which is different. It's kind of neat. I know it was kind of a last-minute thing that Brad [Wright] offered for the character because I wasn't able to go and shoot scenes in the Arctic. So, it's one of these compromises that turned into a real neat character thing that's going to be fun to play." — Michael Shanks, SciFi.com interview, May 2007.

Note that all spoilers are subject to change before the finished film is produced.

Barry L. Campbell, head of operations at the San Diego-based U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory, presented the idea to Executive Producer N. John Smith at a Stargate convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, and has a speaking role in the film.